The slogan “Bread, freedom, these islands are Egyptian” left hundreds of Egyptian young people behind bars as they protested the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia in April. This very slogan, however, sparked cries of joy in the State Council Court as a ruling to keep the two islands under Egyptian sovereignty was announced June 21.
In a courtroom full of despair and frustration, a judge read his ruling, “The islands should remain part of Egyptian territory and within Egyptian borders; Egyptian sovereignty over the islands holds, and it is forbidden to change their status in any form or through any procedure for the benefit of any other state.”